Applying for a Tenancy
If you’d like to apply for a tenancy, we’d require the full name, telephone number and email address of all applicants. We’ll set up the tenancy online and send you a link to apply. Before you do apply for a tenancy, be sure to have had a viewing with one of our team on the property, and ask any and as many questions as you can!
References
There are many reasons we take references, and these can be either from your current landlord, a general reference of a person who knows you or from your employer. At the end of the day, we want to make sure you can meet the demands of your contract, and it would be unfair to have you sign knowing you might not be suitable for the property or able to afford in the long run. We would never share the information we are given during a reference, and only use it following on from your application.
Tenancy agreements
If your application is successful, we will send you a draft tenancy to read over. The tenancy is often referred to as an AST – an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, and for student properties they generally run for 10 to 12 months. Be sure to read over all of the points in the agreement, and seek legal advice if you have any questions. We’re obviously happy to help if you have any queries, but at the end of the day we do work for the landlord.
Signing the agreements
All of our contracts are now signed digitally, meaning no paperwork and no appointments to come in and see us in the office. You’ll get a draft copy when you apply, and if you do have any questions about anything in the contract, please do let us know so we can discuss it with you.
Costs
The only costs to letting a property of us are:
- Administration charges (£80.00 per adult / £90.00 per student)
- Deposit (paid on signing the contract)
- First month rent (paid to us on the move in day)
- Rent per month/term (only if the property is fully managed, otherwise we will provide you with the necessary Landlord details for you to process payments).
Deposit
The deposit is usually equal to the first months rent (but do check as it can vary, especially for the student properties), and is used to protect the landlord against any damages that might happen during the tenancy. With all of the deposits we accept, they are registered directly with the Deposit Protection Scheme – a government run scheme to ensure deposit money is looked after correctly and not spent during your tenancy.
When we register a deposit with the DPS, we are asked to nominate a Lead Tenant – this tenant is responsible for the DPS account and dispersing the deposit at the end of the tenancy.
Initial rent payment
The first rent payment is usually the summer rent, which needs to be paid in advance or you can discuss with us to create a payment plan for the summer. This is made to Redfern Property in most cases, if not we’ll give you the right details to make sure you pay the deposit to your new landlord. We will not be able to give out keys for the property if there is anyone outstanding in their first rent payment.
Subsequent payments
For any fully managed properties, rent payments during your tenancy will be made to Redfern Property. For any other properties that we advertise the first rent will usually be paid to us at Redfern Property, and subsequent payments to the landlord direct.
Insurances
We recommend that all tenants insure their contents against damages (you never know what will happen). We work closely with Endsleigh Insurance who can offer you some great quotes on insuring your most valuable contents. For our student properties, Endsleigh Insurance is included in the cost of your application fee.
Property Management
Properties that are fully managed by Redfern Property mean that we are responsible for them. If you are renting from us and in a fully managed property, please report any issues or faults to us directly. We have already agreed authorisation up to a set budget with each landlord, and can authorise repairs and so forth quickly. In some cases (for example a new fridge needed) we will need to authorise spending of funds with the landlord.
It is common for the majority of our properties that are fully managed for tenants never to come into contact with their landlords – it might be that the landlords don’t live locally.
Renewal of tenancy
Our student properties run on a set contract length – we will contact you in October to confirm if you wish to stay at the property for the following academic year or not. In November, we open our letting books for new students searching for private accommodation in town, and also attend the Student Union’s Annual Housing fair.
Tenant swaps
In the event that you are looking to move out of the property (be that a property you rent from us as an individual or within a house share), one of the options available to you is tenant swapping. This means that if you are looking to leave before your contract ends, you can find a replacement tenant to take over your agreement and responsibilities. We are happy for this and will help you in anyway that we can, however for any potential tenants you do find would be subject to our usual application fees, references and credit checks. We would also take them for a viewing around the property.
Deposit dispersal at the end of the tenancy
At the beginning of the tenancy, we have registered your deposit with the DPS and provided them with a Lead Tenant. The lead tenant will have received an email with a reference ID and also a repayment ID. Both are required to login to your DPS account.
It is the responsibility of the lead tenant to disperse funds correctly at the end of the tenancy. Unfortunately, the letting agent is unable to help in anyway and does not have access to the account or money held by the DPS.
Upon departing the property at the end of your contract, we advise that you set up a redirect on your post to your new address. Please also ensure that you let us know your forwarding address, so if anything does get past a redirect we can forward it all on for you.
Some key companies to keep updated:
- TV Licence
- Council tax
- HMRC
- DVLA
Tenant Information
- Opening Hours – our usual office hours are Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. We are available for meetings and viewings outside of these hours with a prior appointment, and also on a Saturday or Sunday.
- Maintenance Department – for non emergency maintenance issues please contact Redfern Property during office hours, or for emergencies please visit our Maintenance Reporting page which has handy phone numbers and information.
- Keys – each tenant will be provided with one set of keys when they move in, it is your responsibility to look after these keys. Should you get locked out (and outside of office hours) a £20 call out fee applies, and £7.50 per lost key.
- Inventory – it is important that you look at the inventory seriously and ensure that we have noted any defects or issues within the property – this includes cleanliness as well as general wear and tear of items inside. You are allowed 7 days upon receiving the inventory to make any changes, however if we don’t get it back within those 7 days we assume that the inventory as provided has been agreed on.
- Refuse – please visit this link on the Ceredigion County Council website for the refuse collection – here in Ceredigion we have allocated weeks for black bin collection and for recycling bins. On the week of a bank holiday Monday, the refuse days are pushed a day later.
- TV Licence – in some cases, the TV Licence will be included in the rent, however make sure to check this as it is the responsibility of the tenant to ensure a property has the correct licence. If you’re not sure if you need a TV Licence, visit their very helpful website. Note new changes to the law introducted in September 2016, meaning anyone who watches the BBC iPlayer (either live or on demand) now requires a licence.
- Recommended service providers – we do of course have recommended providers for your utilities and internet, as well as insurance so please get in touch!